Desdemona Despair

Blogging the End of the World™

Inside the twisted remains of Fukushima nuclear plant

Based on a pooled dispatch from Martin Fackler of the New York Times13 November 2011 About three dozen journalists sat on two buses. We wore protective suits, double gloves, double layers of clear plastic booties over shoes, hair covers, respirator masks, and carried radiation detectors. As we drove to the Fukushima plant, we passed through […]

Thai PM: Flooding won’t devastate central Bangkok

BANGKOK, November 12 (AP) – Central Bangkok will see only mild flooding if it ends up falling victim to the waters that have devastated much of Thailand, the prime minister said Saturday. Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra offered her prognosis on her weekly radio broadcast as the water covering parts of northern Bangkok for days appeared […]

Aid running out for Pakistan flood victims

ISLAMABAD – International aid agencies warn they are running short of money and supplies to help millions of people affected by floods in Pakistan. The statement was issued on Wednesday by the United Nations and several other aid groups, including Oxfam, Save the Children, Care and ACTED. The U.N. says it has only raised $96.5 […]

Oceanographer: Debris from Japan due in Washington State any day now

By Michelle Esteban 11 November 2011 SEATTLE – Debris the size of California is headed for the U.S. coast. The materials were swept out to sea after a massive earthquake and a tsunami hit Japan last March. A local oceanographer says while the bulk of the debris will take several years to arrive, items that […]

MV Rena cargo to be removed soon, 100 more hours to pump out oil

By Arlene Paredes10 November 2011 Locating devices called “pingers” have been fastened to cargoes aboard the ill-fated MV Rena as the salvage team moves to finish pumping oil off the grounded cargo vessel. It has been more than a month since the Rena accidentally hit a reef and got wedged in, crippling the vessel, and […]

‘Completely and utterly fail in an earthquake’: The Fukushima story you didn’t hear on CNN

By Greg PalastNovember 10, 2011 I’ve seen a lot of sick stuff in my career, but this was sick on a new level. Here was the handwritten log kept by a senior engineer at the nuclear power plant: Wiesel was very upset. He seemed very nervous. Very agitated. … In fact, the plant was riddled […]

Jefferson County, Alabama files largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history

By Steven Church, William Selway, and Dawn McCarty 9 November 2011 Jefferson County, Alabama, filed the biggest U.S. municipal bankruptcy after an agreement among elected officials and investors to refinance $3.1 billion in sewer bonds fell apart. The county, home to Birmingham, the state’s most-populous city, listed assets and debt of more than $1 billion […]

Graph of the Day: Map of All Recorded Deaths During U.S. Invasion and Occupation of Iraq

The Wikileaks Iraq war logs provide us with a unique picture of every death in Iraq. This graph shows these events mapped using Google Fusion tables. • Download the data from the Datablog Wikileaks Iraq war logs: every death mapped Technorati Tags: conflict,North America,Asia

Bangkok faces weeks of flood woes – ‘Slow, suffocating death of the Bangkok business area’

From David Challenger, with CNN’s Liz Neisloss and Kocha Olarn contributing10 November 2011 (CNN) – As Thailand continues to battle its worst floods in 50 years, a political analyst involved in the relief effort predicted that streets in the capital would remain flooded for at least two weeks. “The best-case scenario, two weeks, or one […]

‘Storm of epic proportions’ hits Alaska coast

By Yereth Rosen; Editing by Dan Whitcomb, Peter Bohan, and Paul Simao10 November 2011 Anchorage, Alaska (Reuters) – A storm forecast to be one of the worst on record in Alaska lashed the state’s western coastline Wednesday, tearing roofs off buildings and pushing water and debris into communities, authorities said. The storm, which began hitting […]

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